Rollerway



Ma 16, 1939. VSAMMON 2,158,865-

' ROLLERWAY Filed June 10, 1958 v INVENTOR Joseph Summon TTORNEY5 Patented May 16, 1939 PATENT OFFICE ROLLERWAY Joseph Sammon, Kearny, N. J., assignor to Driver-Harris Company, Harrison,,N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 10, 1938, Serial No. 212,882

2 Claims.

The present invention. relates to furnaces, such as malleableizing, annealing and other heat treating furnaces of both continuous and intermittent types, and has special reference to work-supporting devices for such furnaces. Devices of this character usually consist of rollers that are mounted in bearings on supporting rails extending longitudinally of the furnace chamber, the rollers and rails being made of nickel-chromium or other heat-resisting alloy. The work to be treated is fed through the furnace on the rollers. In certain cases where the work consists of castings or other articles that are likely to bear loose particles of sand or other foreign matter, it has been found that the particles are liable to work into the bearings between the rollers and rails and cause the bearing surfaces to wear so that the parts must frequently be replaced. Such replacements are expensive, take time, and cause frequent shutdowns.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide work-supporting devices for furnaces of the character indicated that overcome the disadvantages of the prior constructions above de scribed.

The several features of the invention, whereby this and other objects may be attained, will be readily understood from the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view, partly diagrammatical, of a malleableizing or other heattreating furnace which may be either of the continuous or intermittent type;

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of a portion of a pair of rails and rollers supported thereby constituting my improved work-supporting device in its preferred fom;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

.Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View, partly in elevation, taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a modified form.

The heat-treating furnace illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing may be of a conventional type having a heating chamber 2, which has a bottom wall 4, side Walls 6 and top wall 8.

The work is fed through the heating chamber 2 either continuously or intermittently on rollers ID that are mounted on rails [2. The rails may be arranged in pairs as shown and the rollers supported between the rails of each pair one behind the other with their peripheral surfaces spaced apart.

In accordance with the present invention, the rollers l [I are mounted to turn on shafts I4. The

ends I6 of the shaftsare preferably square in cross-section and are received in upwardly open-V ing slots I8 in the top edges of the rails. The hub of each roller is provided with tapering projections 20, the ends of which are arranged in close proximity to the inner sides of bosses 22 on the rails so as to hold the rollers from axial movement. The shafts l4 are held from axial movement by the segmental shoulders 24 provided by the squared ends l6 being arranged adjacent the bosses 22. The slots l8 are preferably inclined upwardly and forwardly at an angle of 45 degrees so that when, the squared ends: [6 of the shafts are seated in the bottom of the slots, diagonally opposite corners of the squared ends are arranged in a vertical plane as shown. The inner bearing surface of each roller is provided with semi-circular annular grooves 26 that are respectively spaced in proximity to the ends of the hub of the roller. These grooves 26 register with shallow annular grooves 28 in the cylindrical surface of the shaft so as to form annular spaces for the reception of graphite or other lubricating material 30 With this construction, each roller may be slipped on to its shaft and the roller and shaft applied to the rails by passing the squared ends of the shaft down into the inclined slots I8 in the rails. The rollers may be easily removed by merely lifting them out of the slots l8. When the rails and rollers are thus mounted in the furnace chamber the rollers may freely rotate on the stationary shafts M.

In case sand or other particles are dislodged from the work and fall upon the ends of the shafts they will freely slide off of the inclined surfaces to the bottom of the furnace, and in case the particles drop upon the frustoconical hub projections 26 they likewise will freely drop therefrom during the rotation of the roller. Thus there is very little danger of sand or other particles working between the bearing surfaces of the shafts and rollers. In case any particles should work into the ends of these bearing surfaces, they will be prevented from reaching the central cylindrical surface of the shafts by the grooves 26 and 28 and the lubricating material 3|].

Thus it will be apparent that the bearing surfaces of the moving parts are well protected from sand or other particles carried into the furnace by the work. The arrangement of the squared ends of the shafts in the inclined slots l8 whereby diagonally opposite corners or edges of the squared ends are arranged in a vertical plane enables the squared ends to withstand maximum weight upon the rollers. My improved device is simple and strong in construction, there is no danger of parts warping or becoming disarranged by the intense heat of the furnace, and the parts may be easily removed and replaced.

In the form shown in Fig. 5 the outer ends of the hub of the roller are shown provided with annular flanges 32 which prevent the sand or other foreign matter from sliding or falling over the ends of the hub.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A work-supporting device for a furnace of the class described comprising two rails arranged side by side and spaced apart and adapted to be mounted on the bottom wall of the furnace, rollers arranged between the rails one behind the other with their peripheral surfaces spaced apart, shafts upon which said rollers are rotatably mounted, the ends of said shafts being squared and said rails having inclined slots opening up- Wardly for receiving said squared ends of the shafts to hold the shafts from rotary and axial movement, the ends of the hub of each roller being arranged adjacent the inner sides of said rails so as to hold the rollers from axial movement on the shafts.

2. A work-supporting device for a furnace of the class described comprising two rails arranged side by side and spaced apart and adapted to be mounted on the bottom wall of the furnace, rollers arranged between the rails one behind the other with their peripheral surfaces spaced apart, shafts upon which said rollers are rotatably mounted, said rails having upwardly opening slots for receiving the ends of the shafts to hold the shafts from rotary and axial movement, and the ends of the hub of each roller having a circumferential projecting flange,

JOSEPH SAMMON. 

